Rock of Ages' two-player split screen... rocks

Surely you've heard about Rock of Ages, the upcoming boulder roller coming to Xbox Live Arcade from Atlus at the end of this month. I had a really great time playing with Wesley today in the game's two-player split screen mode.

We first did a bit of warming up with the game's Skeeball mode. This mode is simply both players rolling down a hill, screen split, trying to mow over targets. In the end you'll actually try to roll into holes on a ramp, all with assigned point values, just like the skeeball you'd find at an arcade. It sounds a bit plain, but it's good fun.

The War mode mixes tower defense with rolling...combat? There's two phases. In the first you'll spend points to lay down obstacles to protect the path that leads to the gates of your tower's door. What you're trying to do is block your opponent's boulder with like elephants and buildings and explosives, with the boulder breaking a bit from each instance of contact. The other phase is where you control your boulder, steering to the best of your ability to avoid obstacles and bash in the door of your opponent's castle at the bottom of the path. Get inside, mow down the guy inside, and you've won.

These modes alone are worth the 800 Microsoft Point asking price. I think this would make for an excellent late evening game with a friend after you've had a few drinks. Slow your roll and check Rock of Ages when it comes out on August 31.